UK Racecourse · South West
Taunton Racecourse
Taunton, Somerset
Photo credit: “Grandstands, Taunton racecourse” by David Smith, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
West Country jumping at the foot of the Quantocks
Taunton Racecourse is a right-handed National Hunt venue on the outskirts of Somerset's county town, near the Quantock Hills. The generally flat track provides a fair test of jumping ability, and the course regularly hosts promising novices from the powerful West Country yards.
Betting at Taunton
Track characteristics, draw bias and the angles that matter when you are pricing up a race at Taunton, plus our model’s own read of the market.
Taunton at a glance
Taunton Guides & Articles
Everything written about Taunton, grouped by what you came for.
Start here
1The full guide to the course, if you only read one thing.
Going racing
1Tickets, getting there, what to wear and what the day is like.
Racing and betting
1How the track rides, the angles that matter, and where to bet.
History and legends
2How the course got here, and the horses that made its name.
- Rooster Booster at Taunton: The Complete StoryRooster Booster won his first race at Taunton in January 2000 and went on to become the 2003 Champion Hurdler — a West Country story with a Cheltenham ending.
- The History of Taunton RacecourseNearly 100 years of racing at Taunton — from 1927 to West Country jumping at the foot of the Quantocks.
The big races
2The days the course is known for, and who has won them.
- Byerley Stud Mares' Novices' Hurdle GuideThere is no Taunton Festival. Taunton's real feature race is the Byerley Stud Mares' Novices' Hurdle, a Listed contest run every 30 December.
- Novice Chases at Taunton RacecourseHow Taunton's flat, fair track develops young chasers for the West Country yards, and where to find the course's real Listed feature race.
Photos on this page are used under Creative Commons licences. Titles, sources and licence links for each one are on our image credits page.
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